Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Last Random Dozen of 2009


It's 11:30 p.m. and we're sitting in front of the oscillating fan. We just finished watching a movie and now we're all checking e-mails and blogs and facebook on the computers. Family time! lol  After a full day of cleaning house and doing laundry, I'm tired but happy with what was accomplished. Even if there is already another load of clothes in the hamper and dirty dishes in the sink.

Time for the last Random Dozen of 2009! Seeing as how it's late and I'm kinda tired, I'm just going to go with my first impulse on each question. 

1. Do you find it gross to share drinks with family? Friends? TOTALLY GROSS. I was never one of those moms who finished what her kids didn't eat. YUCK!

2. What have you learned this year? (You didn't see a question of that weight coming, did you? At least not for #2.)  That I do not have the aptitude for language that my initial testing indicated.

3. When do you dismantle the Christmas decorations? Usually around the 6th of January.

4. Something you wish to accomplish before the end of 2009 is: Not a thing.

5. How do you feel about winter (after Christmas)?  Not applicable (since Christmas is in summer here). BUT...in general, I DO NOT LIKE WINTER. It is COLD in winter. I have a strong aversion to COLD. And COLD IS COLD, whether you're in the northern hemisphere or in the southern hemisphere.

6. Have you participated in after-Christmas sales? In years past, absolutely. They don't have after-Christmas sales here. How sad is that?!

7. Do you have plans for New Year's Eve? Yep. We're going to drive up one of the nearby hillsides to a spot overlooking the city and watch the fireworks at midnight. The city is planning a 20-minute fireworks demonstration; plus there are always clubs in town that have their own fireworks shows. From our vantage point on the hillside we should see most of it.

8. Is there anything special awaiting you in January? A trip to Mendoza in the Andes!

9. If your life this year was a movie, what category or genre would it be? (Romance, Comedy, Drama, Thriller, Suspense, Farcical, etc.) Dramedy.

10. How much time per day do you spend blogging? Please do not lie. I will know.  Define blogging. Is that only the time we spend writing on our own? Or does it include reading other people's? On days when I have time to blog, it generally takes an hour to write a post although I've been known to whip out a short one in 30 minutes or less. Project 365 always takes a few hours due to uploading all the photos on a.really.slow.internet.  Some days I have no time to read any blogs, other days I get to maybe half a dozen to a dozen. It's rare these days to get through my entire blogroll in one day. Can't remember the last time that happened.

11. Who runs your household? It runs me. Absolutely ragged! Living in a dry climate means there's a lot more dust to contend with than I was used to in Michigan.

12. Share one hope/dream for 2010. That I'd be able to communicate with adolescents in Spanish. Trust me, they're the hardest to talk to -- between the slang, the mumbling (teens are teens the world over) and the sheer laziness with language (dropped word endings are the norm rather than the exception), I find it IMPOSSIBLE to understand a word they're saying. I had a major meltdown not too long ago, at which point my husband admitted he has a hard time understanding them too -- and he's completely bilingual, having grown up here. That made me feel a little better but it would be great to be able to carry on a conversation with the boys who play soccer and hang out at Centro Esperanza every week.

15 comments:

Pam said...

I hate cold weather too! I'm right there with ya, sister! It's been pretty cold here. We had snow Christmas eve and again today. NOT MY THING to be freezin' all the time. I want my shorts, tshirt and sandals. : )

Mari said...

Good one for the New Year. Your upcoming trip is going to be great!

Joyce said...

Oooh your trip sounds fabulous!

Happy New Year and hoping the Spanish just flows in 2010 : )

sara said...

love your answer to #4!!!

So glad that I got to meet you in 2009!! Maybe one day we'll meet in person!!! one can dream!

The Bug said...

I really wanted to learn Spanish this past year - the church we attended before we moved was bilingual - but apparently not enought to take actual steps to LEARN LOL. I suspect that it would be a lot of hard work & I'm not that motivated. But don't let the teens get you down - I can't understand the ones here who speak to me in English. It's like they're trying really hard to be unintelligible. Hmmm - that's probably their goal, isn't it?

Catherine said...

The trip sounds wonderful -- enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I can't imagine celebrating Christmas and New Years without cold weather! And fireworks on New Years! They are illegal here. ; (

Happy New Year!

Oldfangled said...

REALLY? You think it's gross to share drinks with family? You have wiped your kids' noses and their behinds, and you swap saliva with your spouse, but you won't drink from the same glass? You are strange, Kim.

I'm not saying I'm less strange. Just strange in a completely different way.

crittyjoy said...

I enjoy the cold weather but I think it's because I like in the Southern US and we don't really get a winter like most other states!! Snow is rare....I think that is why we want it so much :)


Happy New Year!

Melli said...

I would imagine that it is very tough to work with kids whom you can not communicate with -- that would be very frustrating to ANYone!

I'm with ya - cold IS cold - no matter where it's at - and I hate it too!

Yea... I think "blogging" has to include reading others as well as just writing our own. It sucks us in... for sure.

T said...

I just took two semester of spanish making an A in both classes and still can't even count to 10 so I can't even imagine dealing with the little children chatter or the teen talk!! Good luck!!

riTa Koch said...

Just use sign language and food con los chicos.
3. Reyes-fecha límite para desarmar el arbolito y todo.
4. Voy a leer el artículo de Juan y resumirlo en el blog.
7. Robotics team New Year's Eve Ball drop in Muncie.
8. Mendoza--¿Aconcagua también?
9. Dramedia--me encanta la palabra ;)
12. Tengo que pensarlo bien, but I think getting my writing space set up. Mike has his pottery studio now.

Mocha with Linda said...

#5 - amen!
#11 - great answer! That cracked me up!

Jessie Gunderson said...

Same on #1 ~ Your new years plans sound fun! Fireworks on a hillside. MMmmmm! #11 I totally get ya! My hubby would be jealous he loves Spanish and misses speaking to his hispanic friends. I dragged him out of So Cal but he dreams of missions in Guatemala (did it in highschool) and Mexico (would love to do it when kids are older). Happy 2010
Jessie at Blog Schmog

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